Meter panel-board.



J. P. MCGRABY.

METER PANEL BOARD.

APPLICATION men 1150.21. 1914.

1,1 89,848. Patented July 4, 1916.

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Inventor 111111195595 TW/7eJZ?% I. RMCGRADY. METER PANEL BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED 050.21. [914.

1 ,1 89,848. Patented July 4, 1916.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES P. MGGRADY, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WORCESTER ELECTRIC & MFG. (30., OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

METER PANEL-BOARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4, 1916.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMns P. MOGRADY, a citizen of the United States, residing at WVorcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Meter Panel-Board, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a panel board for connecting meters with the rooms or parts of a building.

Several kinds of panelboards have been used heretofore for the purpose of avoiding the tangle of wires that has been necessary in connecting up several meters with dliferent rooms especially in ofiice buildings. The tenants of these rooms change frequently and it is often necessary to add a room to a meter or take one away. Formerly connections of various kinds have been made on such occasions and even with the best systems considerable complication is required on a panel board and in some of them connections have to be made on the back of the same.

The principal objects of this invention are to provide a construction in which meters can be connected and disconnected and rooms cut off or added merely by the manipulation of plugs in a central convenient position and by the use of an extremely simple connecting mechanism.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan of a panel constructed in accordance with this invention and showing the meter connections; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-8 of Fig. 1 showing the central connecting elements in elevation.

The invention is shown as applied to a panel board 10 of stone or other insulating material arranged to connect any one of four meters 11 with the difierent rooms through pairs of contacts 12 as is usually the practice. Each pair of these contacts is provided with a knife switch 13 for connecting and disconnecting each room or other section of the building, but this part of the device is not a feature of this invention. In the present case, however, the two contacts 14. with which each knife switch is adapted to engage are connected one with a cross bar 15 and the other with an L-shaped terminal 16. The bars 15 are connected together in the form shown and constitute one line terminal for dividing the current and leading it to the several meters when they are connected. In the form shown each of these cross bars 15 is connected with a contacting plate 17 and this is adapted to be connected with one terminal of any of the meters. A line connector 18 is shown connected with the other terminal of the same meter but it does not constitute a part of this invention.

The vertical arms of the terminals 16 are arranged in a row transverse to the plane of the panel board and preferably at the center thereof as shown. They are all arranged in the same plane but are placed so that they do not interfere with each other. On the opposite sides of these members are two insulating plates 20 secured together by screws or the like passing from one plate to the other but not engaging the contacting terminals 16. In case there are four meters these insulating plates are provided with four connecting bars 21 on their outer surfaces and in the present case four of these are shown two on each side, two located above and two below. These are secured to the insulating plates 20 and at their ends are provided with terminals 22 each 'of which is intended to be connected to a terminal of a difierent meter. These bars 21 are perforated for the reception of connect ing plugs 24. These plugs are screwthreaded and shaped to screw through perforations in the insulating plates 20 and into the connecting terminals 16. There is a perforation in each of the bars 21 registering with a screw threaded perforation extending through each of the terminals 16. In this way a plug can be inserted through any one of the bars from either side into any one of the terminals 16. That results immediately in connecting the switch which is connected with that terminal 16 with the meter which is connected with that bar 21. It will be seen that the only thing necessary in changing a room from one meter to the other, disconnecting it from the meter or connecting it therewith is to insert or remove a plug. This makes these operations very simple and convenient, entirely eliminates the necessity for connections on the back of the panel board and provides an exceedingly inexpensive and readily accessible arrangement for this purpose which does not take up any additional room or necessitate the use of any additional space for the panel board.

Although I have illustrated and described only a single embodiment of the invention, I am aware of the fact that many modifications can be made therein by any person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims, therefore, I do not wish to be limited to all the details of construction herein shown and described, but

IVhat I do claim is 1. In a panel board, the combination with a plurality of switches, of a common terminal for one side of each of said switches, the other side of each switch being provided with an individual terminal, said individual terminals all being located in the same plane, a pair of insulating plates secured to the opposite sides of said individual terminals, and bars mounted on the outer surfaces of said insulating plates and constituting terminal bars, each of said bars and each of the said individual terminals having means for the reception of a connecting member at the points where they cross each other. i

2. In a meter panel board, the combina tion of an insulating panel plate, a metallic bar thereon constituting a common terminal. for the meters, a plurality of switches, one side of each switch being connected with said bar, the other sides of all the switches being provided with terminals, an insulating plate secured along the side of said terminals and supported thereby, a plurality of parallel terminal bars secured to the outer face of said insulating plate and each one being adapted to be connected with a pole of a meter and to constitute the terminal therefor, each of said bars being provided with a perfo ation therethrough where it crosses one of 'said switch terminals, the insulating plate being provided with perforations regis tering therewith, and each of the switch terminals having a screw threaded perforation in alinement with the first named perforation.

3. In a meter panel board, the combination of an insulating panel plate, a metallic bar thereon constituting a common terminal for the meters, a plurality or switches, one side of each switch being connected with said bar, the other sides of all the switches being provided with terminals and arranged in a plane on the face of the panel plate transverse to the plane thereof, two parallel insulating plates secured along the opposite sides of said transverse terminals and supported thereby, a plurality of parallel terminal bars secured to the outer faces of said insulating plates and each one being adapted to be connected with a pole of a meter and to constitute the terminal therefor, each of said bars being provided with a perforation therethrough where it crosses one of said transverse terminals, the insulating plates being provided with perforations registering therewith and constituting continuations thereof and each of the transverse terminals having a screw threaded perforation in alinement with the first named perforation, whereby connecting plugs can be inserted to connect any one of the transverse terminals with the parallel terminal bars.

i. In a meter panel board, the combination of an insulating panel plate, a metallic bar thereon constituting a common terminal, a plurality of switches arranged along two sides of the panel plate, one side of each switch being connected with said bar, the other sides of all the switches being provided with transverse Lshapcd terminals, two parallel insulating plates secured along the opposite sides of said transverse terminals, terminal bars secured to the outer faces of said insulating plates and adapted to be conmy hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES P. MOGRADY. lVitnesses:

ALBERT E. FAY, C. Fonnns'r WESSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Estonia, Washington, D. 0." 

